art 1 (May/June HTP, p.

1719) discussed the major differences beA fresh look at P tween induction heating of tubular and solid cylinders, and reinduction heating products viewed several important applications induction for heat treating and of tubular products: of coating of metal tubes. This column focuses on selective induction heating tubular products. Applications Part 2 of made possible by inductions ability to concentrate the heat within a specific area of a workpiece include localized stress relieving, brazing, parting, friction welding, bending, and annealing of welds.

PROFESSOR INDUCTION

Features of selective heating Figure 1 illustrates some thermal features of selective heating of hollow cylinders. A twoValery I. Rudnev Inductoheat Group turn solenoid-type induction coil is used as an example. The maximum Professor Induction weltemperature will be observed under comes comments, questions, and suggestions for the inductor in the middle of the heat future columns. Since zone. As a result of radiation and con1993, Dr. Valery Rudnev vection heat losses, there will be cooling has been on the staff of Infrom both the OD and ID surfaces. Of ductoheat Group, where he course, cooling from the ID surface will currently serves as group be much less pronounced.1 director science and techAnother important feature that nology. In the past, he was an strongly affects the required power, associate professor at several coil design, and frequency choice is universities, where he taught the existence of transition zones and graduate and postgraduate courses. His expertise is in mathe cooling effect due to the longituterials science, heat treating, apdinal heat sink from the cold ends of plied electromagnetics, comthe tube. (Specifics of frequency selecputer modeling, and process tion when induction heating tubular development. He has 28 years products were discussed in Part 1.) of experience in induction It is important to recognize that the heating. Credits include 15 existence of transition zones and heat patents and 118 scientific and sink phenomena are primarily reengineering publications. Consponsible for mistakes in determining tact Dr. Rudnev at Inductoheat the required coil power and temperGroup, 32251 North Avis Drive, Madison Heights, MI ature profiles when calculations are 48071; tel: 248/585-9393; fax: based on simple formulas, using one248/589-1062; e-mail: rudnev@ dimensional numerical computation inductoheat.com; Web: www. approaches or uncoupled numerical inductoheat.com. software. Without knowing the length of the transition zone and temperature
Heated tube Longitudinal heat sink Two-turn induction coil Axis of symmetry

profiles within these zones, it is very difficult to make a reasonably accurate estimate of the total mass of the heated metal and, therefore, to determine the inductor power required to heat a tube to the final temperature in the desired time. The use of two-dimensional coupled software overcomes this drawback.1 An example is given in Fig. 2, which illustrates the dynamics of selective induction heating, prior to the tube parting operation, of an AISI/SAE 1045 carbon steel tube having a 152 mm (6 in.) OD and a 15 mm (0.6 in.) wall thickness. A 1 kHz power supply was used. The optimal algorithm of power-time variation applied to the induction coil was also obtained during the numerical computation. As a result of computer modeling, the influence of the various factors on process parameters can be evaluated and optimized. For example, in some tube parting applications it is better to use a single-turn coil instead of a multiturn coil. Effect of coil length Selection of coil length is another critical issue, which almost always involves a compromise, particularly when designing induction systems for certain selective heating applications, such as induction parting (a cutoff process in which a narrow region of the tube is heated to a certain temperature, and the tube is then pulled apart1). A shorter coil results in a smaller mass of metal being heated and, therefore, leads to a lower coil power requirement. From another perspective, coil electrical efficiency is a function of not only the frequency, the properties of the heated metal, and the coil-to-copper air gap, but also is a function of coil length. Shortening the coil results in a decrease in the coils electrical efficiency. When using selective induction heating, it is sometimes desirable to have a short longitudinal transition zone. In these cases, consider using a U-shaped magnetic flux concentrator. Its ability to localize the magnetic field in the area to be heated, in combination with a brief heating time, can provide a significant benefit in obtaining a short transition zone. Induction heating for bending An induction tube or pipe bending machine is sketched in Fig. 3. After positioning the pipe and securely clamping its ends, power is applied to 23

Radiation and convection surface heat losses

Fig. 1 Radiation and convection surface heat losses in selective heating of tubes. Cooling from the OD surface is more pronounced. (Ref. 1)

HEAT TREATING PROGRESS JULY/AUGUST 2004

PROFESSOR INDUCTION,
Two-turn induction coil

continued
Tube

Axis of symmetry Length, in. 1 Temperature, C 1400 1000 600 200 1400 Temperature, C TOD = 1148C (2098F) TID = 245C (473F) 1000 600 200 Time = 2.2 s TOD TID Time = 1.2 s TOD TID 2 3 4 5

TOD = 802C (1476F) TID = 56C (133F)

Temperature, C

1400 1000 600 200 Time = 3.2 s TOD TID

TOD = 1347C (2457F) TID = 585C (1085F)

1400 Temperature, C TOD = 1332C (2430F) TID = 1162C (2124F) 1000 600 200 2 4 6 Length, cm 8 10 12 Time = 10 s TOD TID

Fig. 2 Temperature profiles at different stages of induction heating an AISI/SAE 1045 carbon steel tube having an OD of 152 mm (6 in.). Frequency: 1 kHz. (Ref. 1)

a solenoid-type inductor that provides circumferential heating of the pipe in the area where it will be bent. When a temperature distribution that provides sufficient ductility to the metal at the region of bending has been attained, the pipe is then pushed through the

coil at a certain speed. The pipes leading end, which is clamped to the bending arm, is subjected to a bending moment. The bending arm can pivot up to 180. In induction bending of carbon steel pipe, the length of the heated band usually is 25 to 50 mm (1 to 2 in.), with a required bending temperature in the 800 to 1080C (1470 to 1975F) range. As pipe passes through the inductor, it bends within the hot, ductile region by an amount dictated by the radius of the bending arm pivot, while each end of the heated region is supported by a cold, nonductile section of pipe. Depending upon the application, bending speed can range from 13 to 150 mm/min (0.5 to 6 in./min). In some applications where larger radii are required, a set of rolls is used to provide the required bending force instead of a bending arm pivot.14 After the bending operation, the pipe is cooled to ambient temperature using a water spray, forced air, or natural cooling in air. A stress relief or temper can then be conducted to obtain required post-bend properties. Wall thinning: Induction heating provides rapid circumferential heating of selected areas of the pipe, consuming a minimum amount of energy compared with other hot bending processes in which the entire pipe is heated. There also are other important benefits provided by induction tube bending. These include highly predictable shape distortion (ovality) and wall thinning. Minimization and predictability of wall thinning are particularly critical when producing tubes and pipes for applications that must meet high-pressure requirements,
Bending arm Clamp

Bending arm pivot Pusher

Pipe Induction heater

Fig. 3 An induction tube or pipe bending machine.

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HEAT TREATING PROGRESS JULY/AUGUST 2004

Magnetic flux concentrator

Induction coil

Tube wall

Weld

Fig. 4 Split-return seam annealing inductor, top, and diagram of its electrical circuit, bottom. (Ref. 1)

such as nuclear power and oil/gas pipelines. For example, oil and gas pipeline ratings are based on wall thickness. During bending, the outer side of the bend is in tension and has a reduced cross section, while the inner side is in compression. When conventional heating is used in bending, the cross section of the outer side of the bend area often is reduced by 20% or more resulting in a corresponding reduction of the total pipeline pressure rating.5 The pipe bend becomes the pipelines pressure-limiting factor. With induction heating, the reduction in cross section is reduced to typically 11% due to very even heating, an optimized bending program via a computerized bending machine, and a narrow plasticized (ductile) zone. Consequently, induction heating not only reduces production costs and increases bend quality, but also reduces total pipeline cost. Other important advantages of induction bending: it is not labor intensive, it has little effect on surface finish, and it has the ability to make small radii, which enables bending of thinwall tubes and the production of multiradius curves/multiple bends in one pipe.14 Seam anneal, stress relieve Induction can provide noncircumferential heating of selected areas of steel pipes in weld seam annealing

Fig. 5 Split coil (clamshell) inductor for pipe joint weld annealing. Courtesy IHS, an Inductotherm Group company, Fort Worth, Texas. (Ref. 1)

and stress relieving applications. The inductor design shown in Fig. 4 uses a split-return coil for seam annealing of straight welded tubes. The hightemperature tube welding process produces an undesirable Widmansttten-type structure in the weld heat-affected zone (HAZ). This brittle, nonhomogeneous structure consists of coarse elongated grains shooting into the matrix. Brittle martensitic areas are found in the weld zone as a result of self-quenching (mass quenching) due to the adjacent areas of unheated cold metal. The narrower the HAZ, the more extreme the cold-sink effect, the coarser the grain structure that forms, and the more brittle the weld area.1 To properly anneal a weld it is necessary to heat the weld zone to a minimum temperature of 600C (1110F). Inductors typically are mounted in the tube mill line immediately after the welding and scarfing stations. In addition to coil geometry, inductorto-tube air gap, and frequency, the required heating power depends upon the mills line speed and the width of the zone to be heated. The heated zone typically varies from 12 to 50 mm (0.5 to 2 in.), depending on tube diameter, wall thickness, and other factors.

When determining the power required, the residual temperature of the weld zone also must be considered, bearing in mind that the amount of residual heat after induction welding is noticeably greater than the heat generated as a result of laser welding, for example. The split coil or clamshell inductor shown in Fig. 5 is representative of that used for localized annealing in the field of large, circumferentially welded oil and gas pipes. The coil is assembled around the pipe and then disassembled after heating the weld area.1
References 1. Handbook of Induction Heating, by V. Rudnev, D. Loveless, R. Cook, and M. Black: Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, 2003, 800 p. 2. Recommended Standards for Induction Bending of Pipe and Tube: TPA-IBS98, Tube & Pipe Assn. International, Rockford, Ill., 1998. 3. Exploring Applications, Bending Methods for Structural Tubing, by B. Gover: Tube & Pipe Journal, June 2000. 4. The Induction Bending Process, Barnshaws Section Benders Ltd.: Tube & Pipe Journal, June 2001. 5. Induction Heating Prior to Coating for Value-Added Pipe, by J. Powell: Tube & Pipe Technology, January 1997.

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